JHU Violence | Safety Measures

General Preventive Safety Measures:

Lock your car doors.

Keep the doors to your residence locked.

Avoid dangerous places (e.g., deserted parking lots, empty laundry rooms, badly lighted areas).

Take a course in self-defense.

Carry a whistle.

Keep emergency numbers near your telephone.

Be aware of your environment at all times.

Trust your instincts when you sense danger is near.

Know the locations of public telephones on routes you travel.

If friends joke about rape or pressuring others into sex, make sure they understand that their behavior only encourages the problem.

If you decide you would like to meet someone you've met in an on-line "chat room," bring a group of friends with you and meet during the day in a public place. Get references from the person, including work contacts, friends, and family. Do not keep an on-line interaction a secret. Keeping it out in the open means other people will be able to look out for you.

Never:

Hitchhike.

Open your door to strangers (such as repairmen and delivery persons) before confirming their identification. Call the company they purport to represent, or the Housing Office if you live in university housing.

Resist a rapist or robber at the cost of endangering your own life.